Party Welcomes Dodgy Politicians
New Delhi: The BJP’s effort to take the high moral ground on corruption took a heavy knock on Wednesday when it came in for all-round attack for inducting Babu Singh Kushwaha, an ex-BSP minister who has been named an accused in Uttar Pradesh’s Rs 2,000 crore national rural health mission scam by the CBI. Still, in its desperation to garner some backward caste votes in UP, the party refused to reverse its decision.
Kushwaha faces serious charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and is accused of criminal conspiracy, misuse of office and criminal misconduct. He was chaperoned into the BJP on Tuesday amid fanfare by party leader Vinay Katiyar and UP chief Surya Pratap Shahi with the blessings of the party high command, only to trigger public outrage.
The move surprised many as former BJP MP Kirit Somaiyya had claimed Kushwaha was a partner in several bogus firms used to launder scam money. It was during Kushwaha’s tenure as family welfare ministers that two chief medical officers were murdered and a third later died under mysterious circumstances in jail.
Despite the outrage, the BJP brazenly defended Kushwaha’s entry into the party along with Badshah Singh – another ex-BSP leader sacked in a land allotment case – by fielding party MP Mukhtar Naqvi who indulged in political rabble rousing while addressing the media, attacked Rahul Gandhi in totally unrelated matters, but failed to explain why BJP has inducted a tainted leader. He, however, added that all those who join the party will not necessarily be given the party ticket in the polls.
DRAWING FIRE
Congress slams Kushwaha’s entry as example of BJP’s “opportunistic” politics. Says Advani went on a rath yatra to find such candidates
Ally JD(U) stops short of criticism. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav says tainted people shouldn’t contest polls, BJP’s move “unfortunate”
Team Anna evades direct reply. Prashant Bhushan says group yet to decide on whether it should “take a broader view of corruption within the system” BJP squirms as CBI raids Kushwaha
The unease in the BJP was apparent with senior leaders Sushma Swaraj, MM Joshi and Advani questioning the decision at the party’s central election committee meet. BJP boss Nitin Gadkari justified the decision on the ground that Kushwaha was not facing any “serious” charge like murder and the corruption cases were yet to be proven.
This, however, left its NDA partner JD (U) unconvinced. By evening, even BJP leaders were privately admitting that the party will be in an untenable position if CBI pursues the case against the former BSP leader and arrests him. The BJP brass hopes media scrutiny will die down in a few days. As of now, the top leaders were refusing to comment. Cornered by Congress and the media, BJP tried scattering the blame, demanding why action for alleged corruption was not being taken against Delhi CM Shiela Diskshit and home minister P Chidambaram, apart from making pretty wild attacks against Rahul Gandhi, in a bid to avoid addressing charges against Kushwaha. The effort invited only derision. The comparisons were hardly apt, BJP leaders later admitted privately.
Although some BJP seniors are learnt to have questioned Gadkari on Kushwaha’s induction, none of them came on record to speak up against it. The party’s calculation is that an estimated 9% Kushwaha vote in UP could turn towards it as this section of OBCs view Mayawati’s decision to get rid of Babu Singh as a “humiliation”. BJP leaders claimed that Kushwaha won’t be given a party post or a party ticket but would “campaign against Mayawati”.
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